


Laugh Kookaburra, Laugh

by Solargirl95



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, High School AU, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Mother-Daughter Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-10
Updated: 2015-02-21
Packaged: 2018-02-12 15:51:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2115765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Solargirl95/pseuds/Solargirl95
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charlotte Hale has just moved with her mother, father and sister to Gold Coast in Eastern Australia. Starting a new high school, with no friends and dark secrets, seems like a daunting task for Charlotte however when she meets a funny popular girl named Kate- her life seems to begin to change for the better; but it is not always that simple.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was September, a time when the leaves should have begun to change from green to bright shades of reds and gold but here the trees were still lush green. I sit on the porch of the house, quiet, watching the trees bristle in the wind; the ocean lay just beyond them. I’d only recently moved to Gold Coast, and I still haven’t got used to the fact that here in Australia, it was spring now rather than the beginning of the cold and wet autumns like I had back in Washington.  It was barely 7 am and I can already feel the heat beginning to rise.

“Charlotte” my mother calls “Come and get some breakfast!!”

With a sigh, I push myself out the lounge chair and with a last glance at the ocean, I go inside, thinking about home which was on the other side. The kitchen was at the back of the house, and it overlooked the small box garden which was bare and flowerless- unlike their old one which was a bloom with many flowers- which makes me sad. The kitchen itself was colourful however, but it had cabinets that had fallen out of the 50’s with that retro, vintage look to them; they had not been changed since the house was first built. I pull out a chair at the modern glass dining table and sit down between my father and little sister Alice.

My mother, Maria, stands at the gas cooker “You’re not dressed- you’ll make us late”

“I lost track of time” I say as I reach to the center of the table and grabbed two slices of toast “I’ll do it after breakfast”

“You’ll still make us late” Mum spoke as she bought a pan with some fried eggs for father “You were awake at half 5”

“The laughing birds woke me up”

“Laughing birds?” Alice snickered “You’re joking right?”

I shoot a glare at her sister. Despite being younger, Alice was the one who bossed and bullied me around; I have always thought that Alice should have been the first born. On top of that, Alice was Mum’s favourite. They both looked like one another, with raven black hair and olive skin, and were both undeniably beautiful; I, on the other hand, am the spitting image of her grandmother on her Dad’s side. I wonder how long it will be until he went to the Middle East again.

“That still doesn’t excuse why you just didn’t get dressed then” mum argued as she took finished plates to wash up in the sink “You better hurry up, I really do not want _us_ to look bad on the first day”

I don’t try to argue back, so I just bite into my toast and eat it quietly. For some reason, my Mum always believed that her children gave a lasting impression of the family as a whole; so any disappointments reflected badly. I am, according to her, the main cause of these acts that supposedly cause people to look down on us but I never saw the difference; my counsellor was never bothered by my grades or if I ate a McDonald’s on my way home from school but bothered by the things that mattered. My mother, however, was not my counsellor. Only finishing one and a half pieces of toast, I push my chair out from under the table and leave the room without another word.

*******

I close my bedroom door behind me. The clock on my bedside table reads half 7, meaning I don’t have time to shower unless I want my mother to yell. I pass on being her personal kicking bag and go straight to the uniform, which lies neatly folded on the end of my neatly made bed; old habits die hard and I still make sure that my bed is up to standard every morning I wake up even though Mother rarely checks anymore.

 I stare at the uniform with a distasteful look for a few seconds. There is nothing wrong with my uniform, it is not an ugly colour nor is it too conservative but it reminds me that even more things have changed since leaving home, that everyone will wear essentially the same thing rather than what they wanted. I wondered if mum would check our uniform for creases and frayed edges, like she did with our Sunday best, scolding us if she found a fault. She probably wouldn’t. Not while Dad was here.

I pull off my pyjamas and as I pull the skirt up to my waist, smoothing it out with my hands as the fabric falls over my legs, there is a knock at my door. I sigh, knowing its mum wanting me to hurry up, and pull the shirt over my head as she knocks again- this time a little more urgently; I wonder how many times she’ll knock in the time it takes me to tie my shoe laces and pull my hair back so it’s out my face? As I tuck my shirt into the waistband of my shirt, the door opens without warning and my mother peers in.

“Charlotte we’re leaving now, hurry up!”

I look at the clock “It’s only 7:45 mum, we have time”

I realize what I have done when the words have already left my lips. Mum’s ‘smile’ quickly fades away into pursed lips as her eyes stare down at me as if I am some stranger who is beneath her; I suck air through my teeth as she closes the door and leaves. I know she will bring it up at dinner, then I’ll say something my defence and then mum will retaliate and start and argument which will leave her in tears and me locked in my room by choice but then again that may not happen.

I laugh dryly at the thought of mum letting something go and continue getting ready for school.


	2. Chapter 2

The drive to school is a short one but, to me at least, it feels like it takes longer. After I took my time, on purpose, to get ready for school- I thought I would face the wrath of my Mum but Dad calmed her down just enough to make it into the car without shouting at me. Though words were not needed- her eyes watching me with icy torment for the majority of the 5 minute car ride. I tried not to notice, drawing my attention to the beautiful view outside. As we crossed a bridge that carried us over a meandering river which poured out into the Pacific in a mix of dark and pale blue, I stared out towards the horizon and then at the white sands and dark rocks which hugged the low lying coast line; much unlike La Plush back home.

 We pull away from the coastline and head inland for about half a mile- when the sea is out of sight, I look across to my sister. She checks her hair in a little compact mirror, I don’t know why she does it because she always has perfect hair; she wears it down, her hair is unfaltering as it reaches to her chin. Alice catches me watching, I turn away before I can see her reaction. The car slows and I hear other people outside talking to one another excitedly, greeting one another and laughing; we’d arrived.

Dad pulls up to the school and puts the car in park. He turns to us with a warm smile “Have a nice day”

Mum doesn’t saying anything as me and Alice clamber out of our little car- I am guessing Dad manage to subdue her from creating any more tension between us for me being a huge disappointment again. I close the door behind me as I look at my new school. My first impression is that is much more inviting than many High Schools back at home- the fence isn’t 10 meters high and barbed wired at the top, there are no metal detectors at the gates or the doors of the school and rather than have bland concrete walls and grounds, the school is made of red brick and painted walls with a lot of grass surrounding it; though it does look a bit parched. Something that does throw me off a bit, is everyone else who look so similar at first glance in their sky blue polo shirts and navy blue; they all look the same with a glance.

I turn to my sister to ask her if she wants to walk to find my form class with me but she’s already walked off into the crowd of people. I try to spot her but soon give up, the see of uniformed people makes it hard to spot out one single person; quietly sighing I turn to my parents.

“See you later” I say, directing the words more towards my father than mother, before walking off towards the school.

It is not even 2 meters from the car where I find myself stumbling over someone’s feet- falling to the tarmac with a crash. I feel blood rush to my cheeks and my face becomes warm with embarrassment as I take a few moments to gather my bearings, my knees burning from being grazed against the hard ground. I dared not turn around and see my mother staring at me with a look of hatred in her eyes; I can feel them burning into the back of my skull from where I kneel on the ground. Before I can get up, I am surprised by two pairs of hands grabbing me under my arms and lifting me onto my feet.

“You alright?” somebody asks from behind me – their voice thick with an Australian accent.

I turn to find 3 people- two girls and a boy- standing behind me. They must have been the ones I stumbled over judging by the smiles on two out of three of their faces; I feel my cheeks blush more as I expect them to burst out into laughter but they don’t. The one girl, who has a mane of dark brown hair on top of her head, is looking at me with a concerned look on her face; her dark skin is flushed with red too. Perhaps she is the person I tripped over.

When I don’t say anything, she speaks again “Are you okay? Did you hit your head? Do you need me to take you to the nurse’s office?”

I finally find the words to speak, but the sentence comes out disjointed and mangled “Oh…thanks…no...I’m fine…sorry”

 “Well done Carmen, you broke her” The other girl, a blonde, playfully scowls at her friend. I glance away for a few seconds, I have barely been here a few minutes and already the other students are poking fun at me. The blonde turns back to me and says kindly “Don’t worry about it, it’s cool. Kinda our fault anyway- no need to be sorry. First day here then huh?”

I nod, wondering if she was joking to her friend rather than bullying me, and smile a little “Yeah…”

“Do you know what form you’re in?” she asks loudly over the school bell which rings behind us. I pull out the letter I have from the head mistress; she takes a quick glance at it then looks to me smiling “You’re in the same form as me, great, I can show you the way! We better get going before the second bell goes. See you Carmen, Ben”

She turns to her friends, waving, before hurrying off into the crowd of people that filter in through the front doors of the school. I give Carmen and Ben a little wave before hurrying off after the blonde girl; I glance back at the road and see that the car is gone.

*******

People chatter excitedly around us, making their way across roofed pathways and corridors which had holes in the wall rather than windows. The school feels so open, letting in the warmth from the sun but also allowing the cool breeze to travel through the passageways rather than letting the pupils bake within the brick walls. I follow Kate up a set of stairs and along an open corridor which overlooked a courtyard with round tables, grass and singular tree which still yet to blossom it’s leaves. I look around as the crowd slowly dissipates leaving only a few students lingering in the hallways.

“So you’re from America, right?” the blonde asks “where abouts?”

“Well…my Dad’s in the forces and so we moved around a lot but the last place I lived was in Forks, Washington.” I say squeezing my way past some people so I can walk next to her

“Nice, so your Dad get transferred over here or did your folks just want a change of scene?”

“Mum wanted a change of scenery permanently,” I say- recalling when she aruge about moving here with Dad for months- “Guess she was fed up of moving around and having to make a good impression every time”

“Fair enough- I’ve lived here all my life but I went to America once…to Disney Land. It was kind of lame” she smirks then looks at me with a slightly confused look “I never asked you your name”

“Charlotte”

“Nice name, do you mind if I call you Lottie?”

“Yes.” I almost snap- I hated that name. There was only ever one person to call me Lottie and that person wasn’t here

The girl shoots me a sideways glance “Okay then…”

“Sorry” I say “That was rude…”

As we walk into a large classroom with 25 desks and a large whiteboard at one end- posters about History plastering the walls- she shrugs and takes a seat by the window “Don’t worry about it. I don’t like being called Katie, just thought that was your nickname is all. My name is Kate, by the way, its short for Katrina. You can call me either just, don’t call me Katie or else I will have to call you Lottie.”

I find myself smiling at her, happily, as the second bell rings. Other students begin to take their seats and so do I, sitting beside Kate who leans against the wall watching the front of the class. I take a moment to assess her. Kate is a whole lot taller than me, the standard issue flat black shoes means that everyone’s height is exposed her and I would say that Kate is probably average but perhaps she is a little taller. Her hair is almost silver in appearance, straight but choppy as it cascades down past her shoulders; as she tucks her hair behind her ear I notice she has them pierced, two little pink cats stare happily out at the word. I wish I could have my ears pierced.

Kate glances at me with her dark blue eyes and smiles friendly as our form tutor- Mr Swan-makes an appearance.


	3. Chapter 3

Lunch rolls round quicker than I expect, finding myself wandering into the courtyard with the tree I saw earlier to look for Kate. We had been together for our first period but then she had to go off for Gym- a class we were not sharing with one another- and I had to go off to Art. It had taken me a good few minutes to reach the courtyard with the tree that has not bloomed yet, and even then I struggle to find Kate. When I see a hand waving at me above the sea of people; I smile and make my way through the crowd towards it- hearing Kate calling my name as I get closer. 

As I snake my way through the crowd, I managed to somehow stumble into another girl. I went to apologize but before I could she turned round and glared, so I kept my mouth shut before I could worsen the situation. Her friend, who stood linked arms with her, also turned to me and glared as I slid past them and hurried to where Kate, Carmen and Ben sat lazily in the shade of one of the few trees. Kate frowned at me as I sat down beside them. I glanced at them all nervously.

“What…” I say, worried that I have done something to upset them

“Are you okay?” Kate asks, looking at me before glancing over my shoulder in the direction of the two girls “Ruth and Sandra didn’t say anything to upset you did they?”

“Who??” I ask, turning to look in the same direction as Kate

“Those two girls you bumped into-“ Ben speaks for the first time in my presence. By the tone of his voice and its volume, I get the impression that he’s nervous about this Ruth and Sandra girl. 

I look at him briefly before I turn my attention back to the girls Kate and Ben were talking about; I only now get a good look at them. Ruth stands out, she has amber red hair which is tied back in a braid but is still recognizable even from this distance. She is also, taller than me and possibly Kate, with legs so long that I begin to wonder whether her skirt fits regulation standards. Sandra blends in with the crowd easily, with her sun kissed skin and bright blonde hair, but can easily be spotted since she seems to cling to Ruth as if she were her lifeline. Both girls are, to say the least, beautiful. In an evil witch kind of way.

I glance away before they can notice me staring “No they didn’t say anything, they just glared at me really”

“Yeah they do that a lot…” Kate says watching Ruth and Sandra for a moment before she turns her attention back to me with a warm smile “Do you have class after lunch?” 

“No…but I was going to go to th-“ I say as I turn to her but she cuts me off with a quick and excited whisper

“Good! We’re going to the beach” Kate says “I only have study hall, Ben and Carmen have band but they skip it all the time”

“I” Ben says, standing “Am actually going to band today”

Carmen cocks her eyebrow up and smiles “Tia?” 

Ben doesn’t say anything but hurries off towards the school building chuckling to himself. I turn to Kate and Carmen who are still sat on the grass, looking at me for a reply. I do not know what to tell them. My mother wants me to remain in school even if I have a free period, she also expects me to be there at the school gates when the bell rings. I don’t know if she told Alice the same thing but I high doubt it. I shift tugging my skirt gently. 

“Well…” Kate says expectantly 

“I don’t know…” I pause “My mum’s picking me up from school and…”

“We can get you back here for bell” Carmen assures me 

I pause and then carefully nod in agreement. Kate jumps up and pulls me to my feet excitedly, Carmen joins us, hopping to her feet. We all join hands and run off towards the building, laughing and giggling. I am a little closed at first but I then begin to laugh with them and grasp their hands tighter as we run down the corridor. We pass Alice as we do, and I manage to shout to her that I am going to a friend’s tonight to study and to tell mum; she replies with something along the lines of she won’t like that but the words are lost as we run from the building and down the street. 

***

We walk for a while, shaded from the afternoon sun by trees and bushes, and the other two girls chatter excitedly. Not about going to beach, a place I have only briefly visited in my short life, but about general things like school, parties that they may or may not attend and a few bands I don’t recognize but am sure I’ll know them soon enough. We venture from the beaten path and join a sandier one, one that winds in and out of sand dunes as a series of wooden planks half buried in the sandy dirt that lines the beaches. Kate and Carmen pause briefly, to remove their shoes before continuing and I copy. They wait patiently for me as I take off my shoes and socks, so not to get them sandy.

“So, Charlotte” Kate says “How many times you been to the beach?” 

“Once or twice…” I tell her as I slip my shoes inside my back pack “Not many…and I haven’t had the chance to go to one here…”

“Once or twice?!” Carmen and Kate exclaim in unison. I know how alien it must sound, to rarely go to the beach. 

“Yes…”

“Well” Kate says, placing her hands on her hips “We’re gonna change that, aren’t we Carmen??” 

We continue down the walk way and the smell of salt and the sun because even more prominent than before. I slow behind them to catch a glimpse of the passing air but then jog slightly to catch up with the two girls who debate whether to go paddling or not today. Carmen expresses it’s still cold – to which I want to object, its far from cold for me but I guess she’s used to a lot warmer so I keep my mouth shut- and Kate agrees but still wants to go for a paddle because the sea will be warm and the Jellies (which I can only imagine are Jellyfish) won’t be as common at this time. 

“Jellies??” I ask worryingly. I have only heard of the dangerous things that lurk in Australia’s waters and the man’o’war jelly fish is one of them. 

“Yeah.” Kate says glancing over her shoulder as we climb the path to the ridge of a dune “Jellyfish…don’t worry though, they’re easy enough to spot…just like the sharks!” 

I try not to react to that comment, since I know she’s just teasing but she laughs anyway and assures me it’s a joke. My face must have been a picture when she mentioned sharks. I pause briefly before I follow the two over the ridge and onto the beach. The beach itself stretches for as far as the eye can see and is scarcely populated right now- which is understandable since it is still school for most people. A few joggers make their way up and down the beach but other than that we are practically alone. It’s nice, tranquil. 

“Come on…” Kate urges as she and Carmen run out across the sand and towards a spot somewhere in the middle of the beach

I watch them for a moment before I follow. “Wait up!!”

Carmen and Kate laugh as they dive into the sand, flopping back onto it as if it were a comfortable pillow. Despite the ‘cold’ temperatures, the sand is hot against the soles of my feet and I wonder whether to put my shoes on, lest I risk burning the bottom of my feet. I decide against it because once I am sat on the sand, it does not feel as hot and the cool ocean breeze lessens the heat slightly. I cross my legs beside the two girls as they quickly apply sun cream- which I borrow because I don’t have any of my own. After that, we sit in almost silence- reading or doing homework on the sand. It’s nice. Quiet. Peaceful. 

My nose is deep into a book I am reading, when I hear Kate begin to scream and shout. I look up at her, distressed shouts, to only find she is waving a few people on quad bikes who speed across the sand towards us. I nearly jump to my feet and run away when Carmen stops me. She shoots me a sly smile and begins to wave too, whistling to the riders as they begin approach us at a reasonable speed. In a neat line two of them stop, their helmets covering their faces from us and the afternoon sun; the other one is still a way behind. Kate and Carmen smirk and smile up at the people on the dune buggy. 

“Hello boys…” Kate says slowly, flirtingly almost

“Well well…” says the one- his accent definitely Australian- “What do we have here?” 

As he speaks he pulls off his helmet, revealing a wash of long golden hair. If his voice had not been deep and his face had a little more feminine, I would have mistaken the man for a girl however his chiselled jaw and stone cheek bones suggest he is anything but a girl. He smiles in a smirk like manner, his dark brown eyes glistening with adventure and perhaps something else. He glances at us all, and is surprised to see me sat on the sand beside Carmen. 

“Who’s this?” he says, hopping off the buggy and brushing sand from his shorts “Didn’t tell me you were bringing a friend?”

“This,” Kate said, pulling me to my feet again “Is Charlotte…she’s from the States”

“The States huh…” the guy nods respectfully “I have a few friends over there, cool place. Where abouts you from?” 

“Washington..” I say quietly 

“Ach!!” he gags almost “Washington?? Of all the places to live, your folks decide Washington?? Well…I guess the change is sure something! I’m Garrett by the way” 

I nod in reply. 

“This is my friend Eleazar…” he nodded to the man on other bike, who’d taken his helmet to reveal his dark skin and bright smile. As the final bike pulled up beside the others, Garrett grinned wider “And this is my best friend Peter”

The final rider had finally reached us, parking his bike beside the others. Unlike the other two, he turned his bike off before lifted up the visor of his helmet. Peter was probably the biggest of all the guys, even though he was still sat on his bike, he towered over them like some giant with broad shoulders and tight chest. His skin was paler than the other two- who had a golden sun kissed shade to theirs- and his face was more hollow, square but hollow cheeked and deeper set eyes. His eyes were an interesting shade of dark green- the colour of wet seaweed- and for whatever reason, they were a lot colder than the others friendlier gaze. 

He gave a curt nod “Ladies…”

Garrett rolled his eyes at his friends, deep, soft polite tone before turning to him with a grin on his face “Such a gentleman…well ladies..” he spoke as he straddled his Quad Bike again, turning to all of us “Care for a ride?”

Carmen and Kate giggled excitedly, taking not a moment more to hesitate jumping on the back of the bikes and wrapping their arms around their waists. Their laughter became more hysteric as Elezar and Garrett sped off into the distance, screaming wildly as the boys try to impress them with how fast they could go. However, this meant I was left behind with Peter, who was watching me as if he were waiting for something. Perhaps for me to jump on the back of his bike too. I took a step back, shaking my head.

“I need to get home…” I said quietly, glancing at the others who were far away now “Could you tell the girls for me…”

Peter didn’t say much else, just nodded before putting his visor down again and driving off along the golden sands. I watched him as he became a tiny coloured speck in the distance, and I wondered to myself why he was so quiet. It kind of creeped me out but I shrugged it off as nothing. I made my way up the sand dunes and onto the street, heading in the direction of home. Or at least where I thought was home; I wasn’t quite sure but as long as I found the school I could find my way back to the house. I took one last look at the beach before hurrying off to get back to school in time for my mother to pick me up.


End file.
